Chapter 345: Chapter 342: An Autumn Shakedown in Winter?

The shockwave spread out from the epicenter, a process that took some time. By the time the residents of Lansite had moved past their initial shock and settled in to watch the show, two groups of people came looking for Rorschach.

They were all Rorschach’s colleagues—fellow Mages!

First was the Town Mage from the prefectural capital, Munich. He had received reports of giant Demonic Puppet sightings and came to investigate, a squad of trembling Guards in tow, since Lansite wasn’t large enough to warrant its own Mage.

When he confirmed the Demonic Puppets were being controlled by someone, he was taken aback. Gazing out at the construction site, he saw over twenty behemoths working in perfect order. ’Such control, such discipline,’ he thought. ’Could there be a Great Mage behind this?’

Upon further inquiry, the "Old Man Rorschach" he had imagined turned out to be a young man, and his junior from the academy at that.

’When did the educational standards at the Empire Royal Magic Academy get so high? It seems I should be a bit friendlier to Mage Bart from Wertzburg from now on.’

Rorschach, unaware that he had just inadvertently improved Bart’s reputation, simply explained his construction project to his senior.

"Rorschach, my boy, to have such an enterprise at your young age... you have a truly bright future!" The Town Mage sighed. "Not like me. Everyone envies me for being a Town Mage. They talk about stability, a royal stipend... But you have no idea. One moment I’m dealing with unruly commoners, the next I’m reporting this and that to the old lords on the council. They’re all laymen! What do they know about Magic?"

This Mage was nearly thirty, yet he was still just a Basic Level Mage. ’You barely know a thing yourself,’ Rorschach wanted to say.

Theoretically, an important town like Munich should normally be assigned a Middle Level Mage, but currently, only the Empire’s directly administered provincial capitals received such treatment.

As Rorschach hosted the Town Mage, the man unloaded all his grievances: his pay was too tight to afford research, he had to write reports every day on the "spirit of the latest meeting," and with the current tense situation, the price of bread had been rising for months...

"Rorschach, my friend, I’m not trying to complain, but this whole misunderstanding has really put me out..." Even though he was only drinking light beer, the Mage already seemed drunk, his eyes hazy as he spoke.

"This business with your earth Demonic Puppets... it could be a small matter, or it could be a very big one. Officially, it’s my duty to report this up the chain. And before I do that, I’d have to impound these ’big friends’ of yours. But, well, everyone knows a war is about to break out. The higher-ups are swamped, so..."

Rorschach got the hint immediately. He invited the Mage to tour his food factory. By the time the Mage emerged, his carriage was laden with bags of all sizes. There were new products like canned fruit, the flagship Purple Soda, a bottle of imported Valois wine that was becoming harder and harder to come by... and a small calfskin pouch whose contents glinted gold.

"Ah, my junior, you’re far too hospitable. I feel quite ashamed, quite ashamed..." the Town Mage said as he guiltily climbed into his carriage, guiltily counted his gifts, and guiltily drove his carriage full of fine goods back to the city.

No sooner had he left than a representative from the Tower of Secret Techniques and a staff member from the Magic Guild arrived.

These two were much more serious and formal. They asked Rorschach how he made the Demonic Puppets and for what purpose, then attempted to assess their nature to confirm they were harmless.

Rorschach’s method for creating the giant earth golems was derived from the Natural Substitute Technique. However, the traditional method could only summon weak creations no larger than an adult, unable to replace the heavy construction equipment from his past life.

So Rorschach had mixed something into the moist soil: attenuated Living Aquatic Microorganisms. Then he used the soil contaminated by the microorganisms as a core and coated it with a layer of tung oil to isolate it from the outside world.

If the Living Water Body were to enter a natural water system, it would constitute a magical invasive species event, and the consequences would be unimaginable.

But on the whole, they were all controlled by an intelligence core, making them safe and manageable.

"According to regulations, permanent Mechanical Bodies must be reported to the Guild for approval and registered with a unique identification code after passing inspection. If they are temporary Mechanical Bodies, their summoning time cannot exceed one month." After speaking, the representative from the Tower of Secret Techniques placed a Secret Magic Mark on all the earth golems and asked Rorschach when these Mechanical Bodies had been created.

"They were created the day before yesterday... So, after January third of next year, if I can still sense the mark’s presence, or if a spot check reveals these Mechanical Bodies haven’t been destroyed, the Magic Guild will report your violation to the Owl Arbitration Court. In the future, you must report the creation of any Mechanical Bodies to the Guild in advance."

After the notification, the Magic Guild staff member tore off a ticket-like document and had Rorschach pay the "Unnatural Intelligent Mechanical Body Management Fee."

’What did you even manage to be charging a fee for?’ Rorschach thought. However, the total fee for over twenty Demonic Puppets wasn’t high, so, not wanting to argue, he just paid it to be done with the matter.

The Mage from the Tower of Secret Techniques noticed, by observing the flow of Magic Power, that Rorschach’s Mechanical Bodies consumed very little energy.

Rorschach immediately began his pitch: "These Demonic Puppets are different. They’re strong, cheap, and simple to make! They have low energy consumption, only needing to ingest carbohydrates and Dulled Transmuting Dust. They’re a real pleasure to use. Our project is on a tight schedule; we absolutely have to use these Mechanical Bodies."

The two Mages nodded reservedly, indicating that if it truly was a new technology, Rorschach could apply for a Practical Invention Alchemy Patent.

’Pah! Mages these days just take whatever they can use. They have absolutely no concept of protecting intellectual property! Applying for a patent at the Magic Guild is just paying money to make your invention public for others to use. Only teachers from the Great Magic Tower or the academies who need to advance their careers, or Evil Mages in custody who want to reduce their sentences, would do something like that.’

Finally, the business-like representative from the Tower of Secret Techniques took a case of Dulled Transmuting Dust, saying he wanted to do some research, and prepared to leave. It was a good thing that the Collector’s output had been steadily increasing since Andre’s arrival; otherwise, after he took that, Rorschach’s Demonic Puppets would have had to shut down for a while.

As he was leaving with the research materials, the Mage from the Tower of Secret Techniques quietly told Rorschach that he had set all the Secret Magic Marks on the Demonic Puppets’ left legs. Before the time limit was up, if he were to dissolve the Demonic Puppets’ left legs and then reform them, it would be considered creating a new batch of temporary Mechanical Bodies.

’Great. How user-friendly!’

"It’s the middle of winter, and the factory isn’t even finished. Why is everyone suddenly showing up to shake me down?" Rorschach, who had once been under Master Kano’s protection, was now finally experiencing the "golden price" of navigating the world.

"Are they gone?" Andre, who was in charge of preparing the case of Transmuting Dust for the Mage’s research, asked. He thought for a moment. "Is the City Hall next in line?"

"If they dare to come, we’ll prepare a little... surprise... for them," Rorschach said through clenched teeth as he watched the carriage disappear into the distance.

...

"ACHOO!" In an office at the City Hall, a gentleman sneezed.

He was reporting to his superior, who asked with concern, "Did you catch a chill? The weather’s turning cold, you should take care of yourself."

"I’m fine, sir." The man, now dubbed Mr. Sneeze, continued his report. "That Mage in Lansite is making quite a stir with his new factory. I heard the Town Mage and people from the Magic Guild have already paid him a visit. Should we also go and... offer some inspection and guidance?" It was the end of the year, after all. Who wouldn’t want a little extra harvest?

"Stop right there!" The supervisor quickly put a stop to his subordinate’s idea. "That Rorschach Mage is very close to Mage Bart. I don’t need to tell you who Bart is, do I? Besides, that factory is backed by His Highness’s investment. The special permit has already been sent to our City Hall. What pretext could you possibly use to stick your hand out?"

"Besides, look at who’s already been there... They’re all Casters. What business do you have getting involved?"

"If you want to go and make trouble for a Mage, then go by yourself. If you manage to pull a tooth from a wolf’s mouth and bring in some revenue for the department, you’ll be our hero. But if you end up angering him, hmph hmph..."

Mr. Sneeze broke out in a cold sweat despite the winter chill. He repeatedly thanked his supervisor for the advice and never brought up the matter again.